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7/31/2014 4:54PM

Self-Driving Cars Head to Showroom - if the Law Allows

Audi's Tampa test drive for a system that allows drivers to negotiate traffic jams hands-free highlights how advances in autonomous driving technology are outpacing efforts by regulators to write rules of the road for self-driving vehicles. Photo: Audi.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... self driving cars speeding up their journey science fiction showroom but the law could still be a state by ... several major car makers say that bike twenty sixteen they plan to offer systems that will pilot a car stop and go traffic with out the driver had touched the steering wheel or brakes ... Audi recently let me get behind the wheel of a seven model but with a prototype of its traffic jam pilot system of a stretch of freeway in Tampa VA Seven's top of the system was able to keep a safe distance from cars have ... stated slain automatically and speed up slow down on its own ... Audi of course isn't alone working on ... striving technology ... Most major automakers are developing their own versions as a Silicon Valley in our local ... what all these rivals have in common ... is concerned that state and federal highway safety regulators what starting salary to their work ... to develop rules the road to allow its pre operation cars California smother people ... is expected to release draft rules next month ... that could allow consumers to operate the Thomas vehicles illegally ... in Florida state officials say they want to see more testing first ... what this technology take off though ... and we need to watch it ... see what happens here for that we wanna see the testing a courier for ... an immortal or from those lessons ... aware of the last interview just ... when you get to these types of companies in it's it's ... you know ... they're going to put hundreds of thousands of hours their name is on one ... and so when they're ready on ... when they're ready to stick to begin to sell these vehicles with this technology ... I think order will be ready to stand with them ... on and be open to allowing them to sell them stay ... auto makers still have technical challenges to sell before they can start offering ... advanced autopilot systems across their bottom lines ... among them is the problem how to tell drivers that they have to take control of the car again ... I mean as you can tell the of the technology first the boys getting a lot lot closer ... so only a short year and a half ago when we were in Las Vegas we demonstrated the pilot of biking ... we showed a car that essentially head for strong of ... computers ... and adjust in a short the year just as we introduced in CES this year ... we've already reduced the dough into a sizable laptop approximate but so ... it really is taking ... a pretty big lead ... in terms of what the technology can do ... and what could've urging of the different ... had units ... is able to do for us ... according to local ... consumers want cars that automatically drive in all conditions not just the rush hour freeway ... established car makers like Audi this on General Motors others ... want to roll out of town was driving technology step by step ... using systems that offer buyers the option to drive ... either way this could be another area with a lot has to play catch up with technology ...